The Perfect Stroke (Lucas Brothers #1)(65)

“I’m sorry my news isn’t better, CC. Hell, I’m even sorrier I wasn’t around to keep you from signing this ridiculous contract.”

“It doesn’t matter. Back then… even now, I would have signed anything if it meant making sure Banger would keep from worrying and be able to die in peace.”

“He was a lucky man to have you. There’s still a small chance we can go to court and win because of the outrageous contract terms and your age.”

“Yeah,” I answer him, but I know that’s not going to happen. For one, I don’t think I could handle court and having my mom’s sordid past out everywhere. For another, I doubt there’s anything like a fair trial around here.

“I do my banking in Lexington. Go talk to a Jim Graves there. Tell him I asked you to contact him. See what he can do.”

I write the name down with little hope, then Mack and I say our goodbyes.

I’ve only been back in Kentucky for a couple days. I’ve had trouble breaking away from Gray to try and figure out what to do with the garage. If I told him, he’d buy it. That’s tempting. Fuck, it is. But, I can’t let him do that. This is my problem, not his, and I’m not about to ask a man I… care about… to bail me out of a mess I made. That reeks of something my mother would have done and that’s not who I am—or ever will be.

I need to talk to Jackson and warn him. He deserves a heads-up. I’m just not sure I know how to tell him. Telling Mack was bad enough. It made it sink in deeper. It made it real. I’m going to lose Banger’s garage. I don’t care so much for myself, but the thought of his legacy being gone… of giving up my home for Riverton to tear down and put another Cash-n-Dash store or something else equally stupid kills me. I feel so stupid for signing that damn contract. I wasn’t lying to Mack; back then, I would have signed a deal with Lucifer himself if it meant making sure Banger could die in peace. Too bad that’s exactly who Riverton turned out to be.

“Woman, you’re making us late!” Gray says, sticking his head in the door. He looks so happy and he says I’m the one who makes him that way. What happens when I f*ck this up, too? What happens when he discovers I’m not worth sticking around for? I do my best to plaster on a smile. I can’t let on to him that my whole world is crashing down around me.

“I told you I had business to do, Crayon Man.”

“I know, I’m just anxious,” he says, coming further inside. He walks over by my desk and sits on it, ignoring the papers that litter it. “Hey, you okay, sweet lips?” He bends down to study my face.

“Just tired,” I tell him, trying to joke it off. “You’re wearing me out.”

“Well, I was pretty spectacular last night, if I do say so myself. What was it… three or so world-shattering orgasms?”

“Stop bragging. Nobody likes a show-off.”

“That’s not what you were saying last night,” he grins, and even as down as I am, I have to smile a little. He’s crazy. “Seriously, are you okay? All joking aside, you don’t look happy or tired. You look like you… want to cry. And that’s not a look I want my woman to have ever.”

“Your woman? Careful, Tarzan is showing his loin cloth again.”

“I’m serious, Jane… I mean CC.” He winks. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”

“It’s just work, Gray. I told you the garage was having some financial issues. I’m just trying to wade through and figure out how to fix it.”

“Let me give you the money.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening. I’ve been in business a long time and weathered some pretty rough storms. This is just a minor bump,” I lie. “I’ll get through it.”

“My beautiful CC. Always so independent. Are you ever going to let your guard down enough to let me take care of you?” he asks, pulling our faces closer. I close my eyes and let his warmth and the feeling of having him nearby combine and cocoon me. His words are beautiful and he’ll never know how much I wish I could trust them enough to try. But though Gray is one hundred percent honest in his offer, he doesn’t know me yet. Not really. It’s just a matter of time when he finds out what my mother, and everyone else I’ve loved, had already discovered. I’m not the kind of girl worth a forever commitment. Even my own ‘father’ knows that. I might be Riverton’s biological daughter, but what kind of monster would do this even to an illegitimate child?

“You took care of me last night. Remember?” My thoughts are bordering on self-pity and, though it’s tempting, I can’t go there. It’s time to stiffen my back. I don’t want Gray to see how low I really am.

“Oh, sweet lips, I definitely remember.”

“We have thirty minutes before we’re meeting your mother at the airport. If you were to hurry, I’d say you could take care of me again.”

“You sure, C?” He pulls away to look at me again. “I mean, not that I wouldn’t love to, but you don’t actually seem in the mood for sex.”

“I am,” I assure him, reaching down to massage his already half-hard cock through his pants. “I’m more than sure. When you make love to me, Gray, I forget everything else around us. Everything in the world stops and it’s just you and me. I really need that right now.”